This invention relates in general to continuous batch or "tunnel" laundry machines and in particular to methods and apparatus for coupling individual cylinders within the machine together for oscillation and rotation. Still more particularly, this invention relates to apparatus for coupling individual modular laundry machine cylinders together and suspending those cylinders in a manner which will transmit rotational torque efficiently despite minor misalignments due to loading, foundation shifting or the like.
Certain batch laundry systems are well known in the art and are utilized extensively in commercial laundry applications and in the treatment or washing of textile piece goods. Typically known batch laundry machines include a longitudinally elongated housing which encloses a plurality of chambers which are utilized for prewash, rinse, main wash, boiling or cold rinsing, and other forms of treatment. Generally water is circulated through the machines and recycled from the outlet end back to the inlet end. Drive means are generally provided for oscillating the various chambers to maximize the cleansing action.
Well known batch laundry systems exist which utilize a drum or cylinder which includes a transfer chute which acts to retain the contents of the cylinder during oscillation and serves to transfer the contents to an adjacent cylinder upon unidirectional rotation of that cylinder. Thus, the contents of such a system enter the system at one end and proceed through the various cylinders to exit the system at the other end.
The total number of cylinders within each batch laundry system is adapted to the amount of laundry to be processed and cannot be easily varied utilizing known systems. In large applications it is not uncommon for the entire system to exceed fifty feet in length and to occupy a large amount of space.
Two types of construction are known in batch laundry systems of this description. A first system type, referred to herein as a "rigid" system includes a plurality of drums or cylinders which are rigidly coupled together to form a single element. One example of such a system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,458, issued to Grunewald et al. The advantage of such known rigid systems is that a single drive motor can be utilized to rotate all of the cylinders within the single element. However, such systems are extremely difficult to deliver and install due to the length and size of the drum and are prone to misalignment problems which can occur due to uneven loading within the cylinder or foundation settling. Such alignment problems often cause binding in the rotational bearing supports of the single drum and it is often necessary to correct this misalignments by utilizing shims or other techniques.
A second type of construction commonly used in batch laundry systems is the so-called "modular" system in which each individual cylinder within the drum is separately supported and driven. Examples of these systems can be seen U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,020,659, issued to Bhavsar; 4,109,493, issued to Hugenbruch; and 4,236,393 issued to Katzfey. While these modular systems are simple to deliver and install their reliability suffers due to the necessity of multiple drive motors for each modular segment. Certain designers have attempted to correct this problem by utilizing a single elongated drive shaft with separate drive belts or gears for each module; however, the necessity of accurate timing relationships between adjacent drums to accomplish near simultaneous transfer of articles from one drum to an adjacent drum all along the system also results in reduced reliability.
It should therefore be apparent that a need exists for a batch laundry system which combines the advantages of simplicity found in rigid systems with the ease of installation and delivery found in modular systems.